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Unsurprisingly, after the huge success that “Gamera vs. Guiron” proved to be, the failing film company was quick to grab onto the cash cow that the giant turtle series turned to be and commission another installment. This time, though, there was a sponsor in the face of the 1970 World Expo in Osaka. This brought a much bigger budget (35 million yen as opposed to 20 million for the previous installment) and for the first time in a couple of films, a plot that does not include aliens.

Western Islands, 1970. A group of scientists finds a large whistle-shaped monument and decides to bring it to Expo 70 in Osaka, despite the protests the of country’s elders. This awakes the giant monster Jiger who despite Gamera’s try to stop it, arrives in Japan and obliterates half of Osaka. During one of the fights between the two behemoths, Jiger pierces Gamera...

The Zatoichi series reached its milestone 10th outing in just three years since the release of the first, and it did so in style. It injected new blood into the series in the form of director Akira Inoue for an entry that is much darker in subject than any of the previous adventures.

Zatoichi’s travels bring him back to the village where he first learnt the art of massage under his old teacher Master Hikonoichi. Since it has been more than ten years that Ichi last saw him, he decides to pay his respect to the man, but upon reaching the village, he finds out that Master Hikonoichi was recently murdered and his daughter Osayo was taken in by the brothel owner Tatsugoro, who in turn works for the local magistrate Jingo Odate. Most women of the village, in fact, are in the clutches of the local brothels.